Privacy Committee of South Australia

The Privacy Committee of South Australia (Privacy Committee) is established by Proclamation and is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Information Privacy Principles Instruction by South Australian public sector agencies. A copy of the Proclamation of the Privacy Committee can be found at the end of the Information Privacy Principles Instruction.

In accordance with its Proclamation the Privacy Committee has the following functions:

to advise the Minister as to the need for, or desirability of, legislation or administrative action to protect individual privacy and for that purpose to keep itself informed as to developments in relation to the protection of individual privacy in other jurisdictions;

to make recommendations to the Government or to any person or body as to the measures that should be taken by the Government or that person or body to improve its protection of individual privacy;

to make publicly available information as to methods of protecting individual privacy and measures that can be taken to improve existing protection;

to keep itself informed as to the extent to which the Administrative Scheme of Information Privacy Principles are being implemented;

to refer written complaints concerning violations of individual privacy received by it (other than complaints from employees of the Crown, or agencies or instrumentalities of the Crown, in relation to their employment) to the appropriate authority;

such other functions as are determined by the Minister.

The Privacy Committee has six members appointed by the Minister responsible for Privacy in South Australia. The Minister currently responsible for Privacy is the Deputy Premier, the Hon John Rau MP. The Privacy Committee reports directly to the Minister and provides advice on privacy issues.

The Privacy Committee meets at six weekly intervals.

Executive support for the Privacy Committee is provided by State Records. The Executive Officer of the Privacy Committee can be contacted on 8204 8786 or via email at privacy@sa.gov.au.

Members of the Privacy Committee

Privacy Committee members are appointed for terms no longer than four years. It is usual practice for Members to be appointed for two years with the option to extend for a further two years.

Ms Billich was chosen by the Minister on the basis of her strong focus in information law and social justice. Ms Billich is a legal practitioner and was appointed as a non-public sector employee (within the meaning of the Public Sector Act 2009)

Nathan Morelli (Member)

Mr Morelli was chosen by the Minister on the basis of his information technology expertise, particularly in the areas of risk management, information security and privacy. Mr Morelli is the Manager ICT Assurance, Department for Education and Child Development.

Lucinda Byers (Member)

Ms Byers was appointed on the nomination of the Attorney-General on the basis of her strong experience in administrative law and the provision of legal and legal policy advice to government. Ms Byers is Special Counsel, Office of the Chief Executive, Attorney-General’s Department.

Krystyna Slowinski (Member)

Ms Slowinski was appointed on the nomination of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment on the basis of her experience in social policy and research ethics. Ms Slowinski is the Manager, Evaluation and Research, Business Affairs, Department for Communities and Social Inclusion.

Kathy Ahwan (Member)

Ms Ahwan was appointed on the nomination of the Minister for Health on the basis of her extensive knowledge of the management of personal information in the field of health. Ms Ahwan is a Principal Consultant in the Policy and Legislation unit in the SA Department for Health and Ageing.